Ohio's first Nordstrom Rack store is headed for Greater Cleveland. The Seattle-based clothing chain said today it plans to open a new "Rack" discount store this fall at Legacy Village in Lyndhurst, making it the first such store in the state. Marcie Gilmore, general manager of Legacy Village, said the new store, which could open as early as October, will... Full story »

How far the Cavaliers advance in the NBA playoffs remains to be seen. But the business community already has cause for celebration. A professional sports team, especially a successful one like the Cavaliers, is an economic juggernaut, channeling millions of dollars to and from companies here and across the country. In Cleveland, the team has spent $30 million over the... Full story »

I've never been much for contact sports. In my mind, injury is something to be avoided, not flirted with or embraced. Strange, then, given the beating I took, how much I enjoyed my latest fitness activity: mountain biking. Twice during a recent introduction to the sport, I crashed -- hard -- yet both times I hopped back on, craving... Full story »

Conservative. Uptight. Neo-Romantic. All three terms have been applied to the genre-mixing music of Dan Visconti, and none of them is even remotely accurate. "It's been very pigeonholed," laments the 26-year-old local composer. "Nobody's really on the mark." Recently, though, a new, more accurate label for Visconti has come forth, one that not only describes him fairly but also bodes... Full story »

Water is not my natural element. When it comes to working out, I'm happiest with two feet, or at least two wheels, planted firmly on the ground. Or so I thought. Now that I've tried kayaking, I've discovered not only one more excellent fitness activity, but a potential antidote to my landlubber ways. Although I didn't relish every moment... Full story »

Fencing for fitness It probably comes as no surprise that I took an avid interest in the recent Beijing Olympics. The games for me amounted not only to a global race for medals but also to a panoramic display of fitness, with each new event filling out my already ample list of new activities to sample. Thus I found myself... Full story »

You don't have to spend a lot of money to get a good workout. In fact, depending on what you keep in your garage, you may not have to spend anything. Last week, I experienced firsthand the power of "Battling Ropes," an activity that's as simple in concept as it is challenging in execution. All it requires is some... Full story »

The Columbus Symphony Orchestra will play on. After a financial crisis that nearly muted the ensemble long-term, musicians and managers Monday night approved a contract that will keep the music coming three more years. According to The Columbus Dispatch, the contract covers 53 full-time musicians but trims $1.3 million from its $12.5 million annual budget by shortening the performance... Full story »

Tonight at Severance Hall, as the applause dies down and the audience takes a collective breath, a tall, slender Austrian will walk to the podium and lift his baton to begin the next decade in the history of the Cleveland Orchestra. Music director Franz Welser-Most, 48, had his contract extended in June through 2018, his second extension since his... Full story »

Tonight at Severance Hall, as the applause dies down and the audience takes a collective breath, a tall, slender Austrian will walk to the podium and lift his baton to begin the next decade in the history of the Cleveland Orchestra. Music director Franz Welser-Most, 48, had his contract extended in June through 2018, his second extension since his... Full story »

The audience's eyes and ears weren't the only equipment paying close attention Thursday night as the Cleveland Orchestra and music director Franz Welser-Most kicked off their new season at Severance Hall. Several video cameras, too, were there, capturing the presentation for an upcoming DVD featuring the concert's centerpiece, Bruckner's Symphony No. 7. Both this work and its companion on... Full story »

Prior to last week, it had been years since I'd last jumped rope or bounced on a trampoline. In my mind, neither figured on the list of things adults do. But now that I've tried "Jump-o-Lean," a workout routine involving both activities, I may have to dig out the old rope and rethink my list. Currently, "Jump-o-Lean" exists in... Full story »

Severance Hall isn't the only place to hear the Cleveland Orchestra live in Northeast Ohio. Sometimes, you can also catch the ensemble at Oberlin College. This Sunday, Oct. 5, at 3 p.m., the orchestra and music director Franz Welser-Most kick off the school's Artist Recital Series with a presentation at Finney Chapel of the same program they're playing at... Full story »

Pianist Emanuel Ax is the featured guest of the Cleveland Orchestra this weekend, and he fulfills that role magnificently as a vibrant soloist in two short, lesser-known works for piano and orchestra. In actuality, though, many musical artists, not just Ax, deserve credit for an unusual but subtly compelling program that, under music director Franz Welser-Most, often sounds like... Full story »

CrossFit workouts As an occasional triathlete, I've grown quasi-comfortable switching from one sport to another. Assuming I can swim, I usually don't have much trouble in a triathlon jumping out of the water and onto a bike, or from there into a run. But boy did I have trouble with CrossFit, a fitness program in which transition is the founding... Full story »

Every time pianist Lang Lang sits down at the keyboard or contemplates a new project, he asks himself whether what he's doing will serve his art or hinder it. Usually, he has no doubt that what he's doing is right, and proof comes in the form of sell-out crowds, high ranks on Billboard charts and standing ovations. All of... Full story »

Dull moments aren't just few and far between this weekend at Severance Hall. They're nonexistent. Yet the experience is also hugely uneven, with heat from the Cleveland Orchestra, music director Franz Welser-Most and a phenomenal soloist setting one important score on fire and leaving another in ashes. A third comes off with a singe. A majority of the credit... Full story »

Only one word can be used to describe completely the effect Nicholas McGegan has at the helm of the Cleveland Orchestra this weekend: transformative. Guest-conducting an all-Baroque program on which the most recent work dates from 1775, McGegan temporarily transforms Severance Hall into an 18th-century palace and the orchestra into an early-music ensemble truly fit for a king. For... Full story »

Swimming for fitness Water and I have a love-hate relationship. Drinking water is necessary and pleasant, but swimming in it drives me crazy. Yet I just can't kick the habit. As a fitness enthusiast, I know the benefits of water-based exercise are too great to ignore. So I continue to swim, obeying my conscience rather than my persistent urge to... Full story »